Zenith and Nadir My Dreams
by Artificial Dreams
Summary: Summary inside. Pairings: Touko/Bell; Green/Red; minor N/Touya; implied Achroma/Kyouhei; possible more.
1. Touko Chapter 01

**Summary:** The battle between Reshiram and Zekrom never happened – instead Reshiram and Musharna are used to make the New World where Pokemon from everywhere go to be free from humanity. Only… Team Plasma retains their Pokemon, and instead N finds himself betrayed and forced outside of this one. A girl, Touko, awakens to pick up the pieces left behind by a missing Touya – and is only able to find her way thanks to Bell…  
**Pairings:** Touko/Bell; minor N/Touya; Green/Red; implied Achroma/Kyouhei  
**Some Information:** This is a test run._ "_Zenith and Nadir" is a fanfic that would take up a good chunk of my time, simply because it's a bit more involved than what I'm used to… so a great deal of experimenting and rewriting happens (aka, I'll write entire chapters, hate it, delete it, and start all over). I will write it - I love the idea too much to not do it. But due to how time-consuming it is (and how little spare time I have these days), am trying to see if there's enough interest that I need to delegate more time to this. I genuinely hope at least someone finds it interesting, but if no one does I equally understand. May you enjoy the first chapter's test run. Also, IDK if this will be the final title.

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Brown eyes closed slowly, muscles relaxing as he drifted into an empty sleep… he was putty in the roots that wrapped around his lithe body, encasing him protectively and deep inside the darkness beneath the tree. Outside, several Pokemon watched in a bewildered silence, quietly agreeing that perhaps what Reshiram had said was true: humans weren't welcome here, serving only to feed the Great Tree…

…

…

…

"She was naked." The blonde girl reasoned in what she felt was a helpful tone, smiling pleasantly at her father who was still smacking his head into the doorframe.

"Bell, you know we can't afford to take in a stranger like this. Not in… not with times like these." The man took in a deep breath, trying to calm the panic radiating from his heart outwards. "The Grunts are still crawling all over, trying to find naysayers and… and…" He trailed, staring at big green eyes starting to water. He took in a deep breath, pulling his head away from the frame. "What if you found her like that because they… you know…" He stumbled, trying to find a way to put it kindly. Stumbling across a girl in the woods completely naked and unconscious was…

…it usually only happened for unpleasant reasons.

"So what if she is? She needed my help! I'm not just… just going to leave someone lying there when they need help!" Bell exclaimed, tears beginning to spill down. "I couldn't before, so now I… I want to…" He sighed, shoulders sagging heavily. Guilt, nothing but. Her two best friends, the two boys she grew up with… one, Cheren, was in jail. And Touya? No one wanted to say it, to speak it…

…but the entire region was almost certain the boy was dead.

Anyone who was a major threat to the organization known as Team Plasma was executed – Alder was given a public one. Broadcast everywhere. The second his head fell, so did everyone's hopes. The only hope that really remained in the house was Bell's. She would pipe up that if Touya was dead, wouldn't they publicly execute him as well? And Cheren was in jail, but he was smart and strong and crafty. He could break out, couldn't he? If anyone could, he was that one. A lot of the Gym Leaders were in jail as well, or were in hiding. Bell hadn't been considered a threat – especially after they took her Musharna, especially after they took away two of the people she cared most about.

A week ago she wandered home, dazed and unfeeling. Three days ago she woke up, and evoked an optimism no one else seemed to have. Her father was relieved his daughter pulled herself together, was able to survive emotionally after what Team Plasma did. And he hated Ghetsis, the team, anyone and everyone around him that gave up. Anything and everything that damaged and injured his daughter in ways that a simple Pokemon journey never could – and above all, hated himself for not being there to protect her.

To not be there in that forsaken castle, fighting for what was right instead of sitting at home, watching the news with wide eyes and praying his little girl wasn't inside, she couldn't be, she was too sweet to be anywhere near that hell…

"…all right." He couldn't say no. Not after the guilt card had been played. Patting his daughter's shoulder, he slowly ambled towards the kitchen to try and figure out where to go from here. If there was anywhere to go. Right when he thought the only place to go was up, fate revealed he wasn't even close to the bottom yet.  
Elated at the permission, Bell closed the door gently and hurried to the bedside of her new, though accidental, roommate. The girl was pale, with long and curly brown hair twisting in all directions. Her frame was a bit broader, and less… voluptuous in comparison to Bell's, so she lent the new girl some pajamas – the sleeves weren't long enough because of the girl's shoulders, and it was looser around her torso and ass than it would have been with the blonde. Regardless, Bell was happy the other was no longer in the nude. Waking up naked in a strange place with unfamiliar faces… she could only imagine how horrible that would be!

Passing time until the other regained consciousness, Bell tried to imagine herself in such a situation. When just staring into space with this possibilities proved to only pass two or three minutes, she hopped up to clean all the clothes off of the floor and whisper her impressions. "Oh! Who are you?" Bell began in an airy voice, lighter than her usual tones. "Your warden!" She added in a deeper voice, and gave a barking laugh. Switching back to the light voice, "My warden?"

"Yes, you are my prisoner!"

"Your prisoner?"

"…yes, didn't I just say that?"

"Well, I was only repeating because I am obviously in shock and terror, having woken to a new person in a new place and… eek! I'm naked! Why am I naked? You dirty birdy pervy! Eek!"

"Wh-whoa… ch-chill… uhm, you see…"

"Oh no! Now I'm a sex slave, forced to submit to your creepy and demented desires! No, what of the life I had before? My world is so dark, so horrid…!"

"…she isn't even listening to me, hooboy…"

"Ohhh, y tu? The devil wears prada!" Bell wailed in her lighter voice, shoving the last of her shirts into her drawer before turning to pick up the skirts near to the bed. Pausing, she blinked as blue eyes watched her. "…oh, you're awake." Hearing the victim voice again, the blonde coughed. "S-sorry about that… was I too loud? Did I wake you? …I WOKE YOU!" She gasped, and dashed over to the bed leaving her mess behind. "You're awake! Happy birthday!" Cheering, she launched forward and pulled the girl into a hug. "Ohhh, I'm so happy you're alive! Well, I mean you were obviously alive since you were breathing but… you're not a vegetable, happy day!"

"…yes?" The brunette asked quizzically, unsure how to respond to this influx of statements and affection and just… everything in general. Lifting up a hand, she stared blankly at it before turning into the yellow strands that guarded the other's head. "Who… where…?"

"Right!" Pulling away, Bell nodded. "Hi there, I'm Bell! My father is downstairs – his name is Kenta. This is my house! In Nuvema Town. Uhm, sorry about your clothes… I, uh… found you butt-naked… so I put you in some of mine. Sorry it doesn't fit too well, but…" She trailed, and let go of the other entirely to poke her index fingers together. "I'm really happy you're okay. I didn't see any injuries on you, but… why were you out there? Like… that? What happened?"

"…what happened?" The girl repeated, and Bell nodded. Furrowing her brows, the girl tried to recall the last thing she remembered.

Her eyes widened when she realized she could recall nothing. Lifting up her hands, she stared at them and then to her body. Tufts of brown fell around her vision as curls bounced and trailed past her shoulders onto pink pajamas. Was this her hair? Moving a hand (yes – those were definitely her hands), she toyed with the hair, pulling it gently – yes, that was hers.

"Are you… okay?"

"I have no idea." The girl responded numbly, eyes staring at nothing anymore. _I have no idea what I look like._ Glancing around, she spotted a mirror – she at least knew what a mirror was. Actually, come to think of it… she was thinking in words, speaking in sentences. How could she know how to communicate, but nothing of herself? How did she know of Nuvema Town, and that it was south of Accumula Town? Why did she know geography, when she couldn't even recognize what limbs were attached to her?

"Do you not remember? Maybe you bumped your head…" Bell began, reaching forward to touch the other's head. Instead, the girl moved around her and walked towards the mirror to stare at herself – to see herself, to know what she looked like. _Maybe I'll remember my name…_ How could she recognize the concept of names, when even as she stared at her face she could not recollect her own? She looked young – how young? Younger than Bell? How old was Bell? Were they the same age? Was she, the girl without memory, older? Frowning slightly, Bell followed after and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It'll come back to you. Here, let me check…" Motioning for the other to bend down, she began parting her way through brown roots. After searching for several minutes, the blonde realized there was nothing to find. No bumps, no scars… nothing. Just a clean scalp, a bit of dirt still there from the woods but otherwise fine.

"Uhm… maybe you had a horribly traumatic life and just one day went crazy to the point where you stripped naked, ran through the woods, and pushed all memories of your horrible life into the dark recesses of your mind?" Bell suggested helpfully, peaking down to look at the girl's expression.

"I don't feel crazy." The girl reasoned, considering this theory.

"Of course not. You have everything that made you crazy suppressed! Now you're healthy as… a… Bouffalant…" Bell trailed, her hands falling as she said that. The brunette looked up, cocking her head to the side curiously at this. The enthusiasm from seconds ago receded rather quickly.

"Bad experience?" She asked.

"No… just…" Bell shook her head, and then looked to the side. "I guess… since you don't remember who you are, you probably… maybe that's why." The blonde nodded. "Yeah. That's probably it. I heard of a lot of other people losing it as a result… so many suicides…" She shivered, hugging herself. Plasma enjoyed reporting deaths far too much to be considered human any longer. "You still… remember what Pokemon are, right?"  
"Of course." The girl didn't even bat an eye – she could name every single one of them, even.

"They don't exist anymore. Or at least… not so much. Not unless you're a loyal Plasma member." Bell stated flatly, unable to find it within herself to put it softly. Treat it like a bandaid – rip it off as quickly as possible. Furrowing her brows again, the brunette tried to grasp this concept. How could Pokemon NOT exist in their world…? Humans and Pokemon lived together hand-in-hand – having one without the other was unnatural.

…wasn't it?

"You see… these people, Team Plasma… they wanted to make a whole new world for Pokemon, because they thought humans were bad, and made Pokemon suffer. That humans inhibited their growth, rather than encoura-"

"That's bullshit!" The girl hollered, suddenly feeling her veins flare up with a rage she couldn't even begin to explain. "There are so many Pokemon that could never be stronger without a human there to train them, to love them!" She snarled. Stepping back, both surprised and a little frightened by the sudden change from confused and fragile to aggressive and factual Bell watched her with wide eyes.

"I-I never said I agreed with them!" She squeaked. "B-but… I think I can tell you've had a bad experience with them… to judge by your reaction…" This stopped the brunette in her tracks, the anger retreating quickly back into a perplexed state.

"I guess… I did…?" Suddenly, the idea that she went crazy and suppressed everything was becoming more believable. What kind of person was she before all of this? How much of herself was still retained, even with her memories gone…? "S-sorry." Apologizing, she took a few steps back as well.

"It's all right. But that's what they believed… and so did their king, N."

"Weak bastard." The girl spat, and then jumped at her own statement.

"…oookay, definitely a bad experience." Bell bit her lower lip, and twiddled her fingers. "Do you… want me to explain later…?"

"Oh! No, no no no! Please! Tell me… I'm sorry, I really am… it just…" Trailing, the brunette desperately tried to find a way to explain her actions. She couldn't even explain why she felt that way about the man.

"…okay. Well, you see… he summoned Reshiram, and… well, I guess N lost it or something because he went missing… then Ghetsis used Reshiram to send most Pokemon into another world of their own, and take over Unova. And that's it." Bell concluded, entwining her fingers and sucking in a breath.

"…I see." The girl saw enough holes in that explanation to know there was a lot more than went into it, but the blonde seemed least comfortable talking about it in comparison to everything else. So for now, she was not going to pry. Not until she understood more. Learned more. Why couldn't she recall all of these important details? Why block that out?

"So! We need to give you a temporary name, until you remember your real one! Hmm. What to call you… how about Cupcake?" Bell suggested, fingers coming undone so she could clasp her hands together. The girl stared at her blankly. "No? Bonbon?" More staring. "Muffin?"

"Why are all of these names food?" The girl wondered.

"Because they are endearing pet names that you can go by even after you get your name back, while also not giving you a new one." Bell reasoned happily. "Oh! Butter! You're just like butter!"

"How am I anything like butter?" The brunette wondered, shaking her head in disbelief. "And I'm not a pet – you can't just name me after anything edible!"

"You're exactly like butter. Just trust me on this, okay?" Bell reasoned with a smile.

"I am nothing like butter – trust _me_ on this… Bell, right?" She wanted to be sure – to reassure herself she could add new pieces of information. What if she couldn't make new memories?

"Yup! Papa says I was chiming like one since I was little!" Bell informed her with a wide smile. At this, the brunette couldn't help but smile as well. "Oh! We should give you a name that describes you! Okay, do you remember what some of your hobbies were? What you want to do right now?"

"What I want to do…?" The brunette's mind wandered. Well, she definitely wanted her memories back. She wanted to know who she was, why she was naked, why she could remember so much about everything but herself. How she knew what kind of man N was, without first knowing who he was. Why she loathed Team Plasma so much, made her muscles tense and her body scream to break something.

And then she knew. Quietly, she mumbled something.

"Oh! Let me guess – who you are?" Bell asked, about to bounce up and down in excitement. The girl looked at Bell, staring her square in the eye – blue eyes seering.

"To fight – Touko."

"Tou… ko?" And then Bell's world because dizzy and dissolved, because that was just two syllables off and come to think of it this girl had the exact same shade of brown as Touya did… from somewhere far away, she could hear the girl's – Touko's – voice calling after her.


	2. Touko Chapter 02

**A/N: **Given there was some interest, I've been trying to stash some time away each week to keep working on this. Unfortunately, sometimes that stash is only enough for a paragraph... but please know I'm trying my best. Updates will be slow, but they will happen. Also, just so you all know this will eventually flip between what's happening on Touko's end, and what's happening on someone else's. You'll see.

* * *

"The answer is no!" Kenta scowled, fervently shaking his head to emphasize just how much he meant what he was saying. "I almost lost you once out there – when it was _safe_! I'm not risking that when everything is…" He sucked a breath through his teeth, not daring to finish the sentence. Being in their own home didn't always mean no one else could hear them. There was no guarantee of privacy – no guarantee of anything.

"But, Papa…" Bell tried again, clutching onto her brown messanger bag while her lower lip trembled. Standing next to her, looking somewhat uncomfortable was Touko. She had gotten a white tanktop and black vest from a nearby store, complete with some rather short shorts. To complete the ensemble were black combat boots, with the original laces replaced with a pink pair courtesy of Bell. Touko's hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and slipped through the back of a white hat she had found. Much of the reason she was uncomfortable had to do with the blonde – Touko could not understand why she wanted to come with her.

Yesterday, when she came up with her own name, Bell fainted. Touko hadn't known what to do, so she summoned Kenta and together they got the blonde to her bed, and waited for her to come to. Neither entirely understood why it happened, but regardless it had. Then, later that night Touko announced she was leaving the next day – she was going to find a way to tear down Team Plasma. There was a lot about herself that Touko still didn't know. But one thing she was certain of, it was that she would not sit around trying to recall memories when Team Plasma injured innocent people, and took advantage of being some of the few humans left with Pokemon in a world without them. Being one person, she knew it was impossible to take down an entire organization working to subdue even the slightest rebel.  
But her soul screamed to try and tear it down all the same.

"No Bell. You're staying home. And you…" Kenta turned to Touko, who turned to face him. Beneath his gaze, she remained curious but did not waver. "You can do what you like, so long as you know you're throwing your life away."

"I'm doing the same when I do nothing." Touko retorted, the words leaving her mouth before the thought formed in her mind. The man stared at her, momentarily thrown off by her statement.

"She's right!" Bell added, nodding her head fervently and twisting the sling of her bag into knots.

"That's not going to work this time. Bell, I… I almost lost you once. Please, please don't ask me to let you go so I can lose you forever…" Kenta pleaded. Feeling guilty for being the cause of this, Touko took Bell's shoulder to turn the other so the girls could face each other.

"Bell… please. Stay with your father. You're his only family. He needs you more than anyone else possibly could. I'm going to go, because far as I know… I have no family. No one that needs me the way he needs you. Please. For him, stay." Touko requested as gently as she could. Staring at her, Bell's face slowly fell as her eyes watered.

"That's… that's so sad… Touko, I'm sure someone… _someone _out there needs you but-"

"All the more reason for me to leave, and you to stay. If we're together, I might not notice someone. They might not notice me. Okay?" Touko pressed, forcing the issue slightly but knowing if she gave a little that was all the blonde needed to win. And then Bell's shoulders sagged, and she sniffled.

"Oh-okay…"  
"Thank you… Touko… and please, be careful." Kenta sighed, relieved his daughter was going to stay.

"I will sir. Thank you." With a polite bow, Touko walked out of the house with the clothes on her back and her own messanger bag filled with snacks and some money (that Bell gave her from her tepig bank). But if she were to be honest, she had no idea what she was doing. She just knew that someone had to stop Team Plasma, and that she was going to be one of them. Certainly there were others out there trying to bring the downfall. But where were they? Would they let her join? Would it be so easy to find these people?

Frowning as she walked, leaves crunching beneath her feet the brunette wondered how this venture would pan out. Would she, ultimately, find herself lying naked in a forest all over again? Only the next time, filled with memories how she got there and wishing she could forget all over again? She shook her head, trying to not dwell on that possibility. Mind swimming with thousands of ways this could turn out, she walked onwards.

The brunette had been walking for a few hours when she came across another human being. It was a man, with orange-hued hair and blue eyes that were glossy and spent several seconds trying to focus on Touko, of whom was raising a brow at him and walking in a perfectly straight line. The man wore a blue shirt, with a white tunic over it that had an emblem blazed across it – beneath his clothes he had chainmail, covering his torso and legs completely. "Whadda we… have we?" He asked, stumbling slightly as he spoke. Cautiously, the brunette tried to decide if he was asking suggestively or drunkenly – she couldn't be sure.

"A drunk knight, I think." Touko responded carefully. The man chuckled, his head bobbing up and down in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… yeah." He admitted, and began chuckling almost uncontrollably. "You, uh… you live around here?"

"No. Traveling." The brunette replied curtly, brows furrowing while she stared at the emblem on his chest. It looked… familiar… and then there was the fact he was dressed like a knight of old, but why?

"Traveling? Like a…" The man busted out laughing again, his laughs more like giggles. "Like a… hah… Pokemon trainer?" And then he was on the ground, laughing without pause for breathing or consideration. Touko looked down at him, eyelids lowering halfway down blue orbs.

"Traveling like a decent person." She corrected him, and resumed walking – stepping right over his laughing form. At this, the laughter turned to snorts and he dragged himself to his feet.

"Excuse me?" He slurred. Rather than acknowledge him, the brunette continued her casual gait to the next town. Growling, he stumbled after her. "Hey! You! Don't just… dis'pect me like that!" He yelled, but she continued to ignore him. Roaring in a drunken rage, he charged after her. Muscles relaxing, Touko stopped walking to wait for him to catch up, to wait for him to be just within reach…

And then she whipped around, momentum rising behind her leg as she raised it to swing high and crash into the man's face. There was a sound, something like rocks in pillows colliding, and the drunkard spun around before falling flat on the cleared road. Taking a deep breath and staring down at him again, the brunette spun on her heel to resume walking. Didn't matter if anyone saw – her blood was pumping, adrenaline raging through her veins and blue eyes were darting all over looking for another person to crack open the skull of.

But the road was empty with exception to the body, so the brunette grumbled to herself as she continued along the way. Part of her had no idea why she felt so violent, or why that emblem kept flashing through her thoughts screaming at her to understand what its importance was. Touko wanted to know – oh Arceus, more than anything she wanted to know! Yet no answers came, only a scream inside her head using garbled words she couldn't make out. Shaking her head, curls bouncing along the way, she sighed and resigned herself to just keep walking.

By nightfall she reached Accumula, tired and hoping that if nothing else changed, Pokemon Centers were still open for all travelers that needed somewhere to stay. Instead, when she got there she was mortified to see it was not – instead, it was a bar where there were more of those people in the strange knight uniform. Those emblems, all of them were constantly engraining themselves into her eyes, visible from each angle so that she could mentally construct a three-dimensional model even though they were all flat on tunics.

Not knowing what else to do, she stood there watching men and women wrestle with one another and throw back beers or some other kind of fluid, sucking not a drink but life out of the center. Touko could hear some glass breaking, and her jaw clenched. Blood was already pounding in her ears, and she was trying to find a way she could take them all out by herself.

Who was she kidding? Just her, take out about a dozen of men and women covered in chainmail? Even if they were drunk, the only parts of them she could hit without really hurting herself were their heads. Besides, they weren't really doing anything except getting wasted. It was just the memory of that man stumbling past… and those damn emblems…!

"Plasma." A familiar voice offered helpfully. Touko nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around to gape at Bell who was happily behind her. "Those are members of Team Plasma. New recruits, really. You can always tell. They get stationed here, and then get pretty drunk. They're fairly harmless, more offensive than anything else. Kind of like that guy you clocked over the head." The blonde rambled, showing no signs of hesitating or stopping. All the while, the brunette's mind was racing as she tried to figure out what the other girl was doing there. "Is something wrong?" Bell asked innocently, still smiling blissfully.

"B-Bell… what are you doing here?" Touko gasped, reclining her head back slightly wondering if the blonde's father was following closely behind.

"I'm accompanying you!" The simple answer earned a frown, so Bell sighed with her shoulders slumping and her face obtaining a more hurt visage than the chipper one. "I couldn't just let you navigate Isshu. Not alone, not without…" She shook her head, straightened her shoulders, and then green eyes stared straight into blue ones. "Touko! You're a girl without a home or any memory of who you are! You have no one… no one that you can remember to tie you to the ground, to keep you from getting swept up into the storm. I snuck out, because you need that and I'm the only person who can be it right now.

So don't ask me to go back home… because I won't." Concluding her small speech, she clutched her fist to her chest while shaking her head. The was most of the truth, but she wouldn't lie to herself about the ulterior motives. If Touko truly wanted to take down Team Plasma, then that meant Bell had a chance at rescuing Cheren from prison. And that, just maybe, if they looked hard enough… they could find Touya. There was no body, no proof he was dead. An official proclamation from Ghetsis, King of Lies, meant nothing far as the blonde was now concerned. Especially since she was feeling hope again.

Gazing at her, silently appraising the dedication and determination Touko released a breath and placed a hand on her hip. "All right. You can come with me." A grin graced her features, Bell brightening at this. "But only if you help me figure out how I'm even going to do it."

"Oh, yes, anything!" Bell cheered, rushing forward and pulling the other girl into a tight embrace. Releasing her, she beamed. "We can do this, Touko! I promise, I'll be here with you through anything! We're friends now!" Her heart was swelling, every inch of her body filling to the brim with joy and hope. There was another human she could connect to again, she dreams with. Her father was a wonderful man, but he was overprotective – his concerns crushed her goals before she could really dedicate herself to them. That was what she enjoyed most about Cheren and Touya's company – even if sometimes Cheren would roll her eyes or laugh at her words, he never doubted she could do it if she set her mind to it. And Touya…

…he was the one who looked her in the eye and made her promise to invite him to see her when she succeeded. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to remind how he looked. The kind smile, brown eyes turning soft. His hand taking hers. His voice… a brief sensation of panic, what did he sound like again? It had been so long, too long. Then those familiar words came, and she was talking to him once more. "I promise we'll find you." _I know you will Bell. I'll be there when it happens, okay?_ "I know you will."

"Bell?"

"Huh?" Green eyes snapped open, and the girl immediately flushed. "Oh, I'm sorry… I just talked to myself, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." Touko laughed, a bit unsurely. They stood there uncomfortably, Bell too ashamed to look at the other so she just stared at her feet. "You going to tell me what you were talking to yourself about?" She pressed, realizing just leaving it hanging would do no good. Biting her lower lip, the blonde glanced over at where the drunkards were, now only half in their uniforms. Following her line of vision, the brunet nodded and took her head. "We'll talk about it when you're ready." She assured her, and then gave a wink. An understanding reached, the two cautiously made their way deeper into the city.

Traveling the streets, Bell stuck closer to Touko while she let her eyes wandered. Since everything happened, she hadn't exactly left home much. The world was so much darker without her friends. In the world again, her heart sank just a little when she saw that much of her fears were a reality. The cemented walls near the high staircase of the city was littered with the drunken graffiti of the new recruits. The locals were in their homes, and the air was devoid of the musicians who typically played the piano and drummer once upon a time constantly. Accumula Town was once inviting – now it was strangely lonely. Initially she thought it was the lack of humanity, but slowly she realized that wasn't it.

There was nothing living in the sky, nothing making sounds. There were no pokemon. Gripping her messenger bag with one hand, walking through the streets of a lonely town, Bell reached forward to take one of Touko's own. Pausing to look at her inquisitively, the blonde's hardened gaze met quizzical eyes.

"Striaton City." Came the abrupt announcement. "In Striaton City, I'll be ready. And we'll… we'll make plans for that birthday party." Smiling again, she offered her own wink. Touko was bewildered by the statement, and then understanding quickly set in. She grinned.

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Touko laughed, gripped the hand harder, and the two girls tore down the street. There was nowhere to for travelers to stay anymore. But they had sleeping bags and a goal, and at least the reassuring knowledge that for the moment, the only monsters they had to worry about were those who couldn't even walk in a straight line.

As they ran through Accumula, stumbling into the town with a head ache and empty rage, a Plasma Grunt was determined to repay a brown-haired girl twice over.


	3. N Chapter 01

**A/N:** Hey, look - a wild chapter appeared!  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokemon, nor have any affiliation outside of being a fan. This is a good thing – trust me. Imagine what disasters I would wreck upon the franchise at its central. Actually, don't – you'll end up crying yourself to sleep. Think happy thoughts… there you go.  
_

It was a giant clearing in the middle of a forest that didn't seem to have an end. A vast nothing that stretched onwards, in which time seemed to stand still – the sky never turned to night or day, always stayed a cloudy gray. There were tiny trees all around in a square shape, with one giant circular tree that mingled ash gray and mahogany brown branches that swirled up, up, and up into those clouds. Lying on his back, staring into the empty sky, light green eyes became half-lidded. Tendrils of jade green occasionally flew into his face from the breeze, and though he had been here for an indeterminable amount of time, he at least knew for a fact this was the longest he had been without a bath… yet he had no detectably unpleasant odor. That was why he thought time stood still here, as well.  
The man was N, and for once in his life he had no idea about anything.

His father lied, deceived, and used him his entire life… and in all in the same day, destroyed N's hopes and dreams, abandoned him, forsake him, and stole everything precious from him. Oh yes, a majority of the Pokemon in the world were free from humans now… by force. Stolen from the ones they loved – N understood that now. That all this time, Touya had been right. "If you have to force them to leave their trainers, are they really there against their will?" The brunet had asked once upon a time. And because N never listened, never gave the brunet a chance to show him another view on the world…

…back in Unova, back where time moved, there were Pokemon suffering more than they ever had – all being forced to hurt and kill in the name of power, wielded by none other than Ghetsis. There was an indescribable suffering, and when N was shoved through the flaming slit in the air he watched all of the mortified Pokemon follow after him. Only, he didn't land where they did. His father, _Hah my father…_ as a final "kindness," shoved his son through claiming he knew this was what N wanted. To be with the Pokemon he cared so much for, to be free of the humans that plagued him.

But that wasn't true. None of it was. Not Ghetsis doing it as an act of fatherly affection, nor N not caring for humanity. Because Ghetsis just wanted the king of Team Plasma out of the picture, so he could lead them wherever he wanted without question. And N…

…he wanted to know what became of Touya. How did Ghetsis get the Dark Stone? Wasn't Touya supposed to have it? Staring at the gray sky, all N could think was that something happened to the brunet – something horrible. Something he hadn't been able to stop, because he had been so caught up in being the True Hero and showing the region the Truth… so caught up in his concept of reality, that he lost his friends… and he lost Touya.

What was there left? Was this the purgatory Concordia and Anthea spoke of? Where the soul went to wait to be judged? "Am I here because my intentions were good, but my actions cruel…?" N murmured quietly, to no one in particular. He wondered how Concordia and Anthea were. They were loyal to him, but had always listened to Ghetsis. What had they done, how had they reacted when they found out what Ghetsis did to his only son? Green eyes closed, and N tried to hold back tears because he was afraid of how much they were suffering as a result of any of the decisions he made. Were they to betray him, and continue serving Ghetsis as he saw fit? Or did they rebel, and were subjugated to torture? To imprisonment? …to death?

Left in this loneliness, there was nothing to do but think. To dwell. To regret. "If I could go back and change anything…" _It would be to ask to join Touya, not ask him to join._ That was where things first began going downhill – the Him or Me mentality. The refusal at the idea of Us. Touya would never join Team Plasma, and for that N was grateful. It showed in a chaotic world of disillusionment and lies, at least the brunet didn't let his ideals and beliefs be tarnished by propaganda.

"Sir… time travel is not a possibility." The aged guardian stated casually. Having no name, N simply called the elderly phantom Guardian. And he called the girl guarding the north entrance North, the girl guarding the west entrance West… and so on. Occasionally a small boy would appear as a phantom, and offer N gifts. They were varied, their meaning unclear. Other times, a phantom girl he simply referred to as Lady would show up, circling a small spot as if waiting for something. She always looked lost, confused, and never spoke to him or acknowledged him.

The others spoke to him, though their conversations were limited. While not entirely sure, N was feeling more and more confident they weren't real. But whether they were figments of his limited imagination or simply guardians that had no thoughts of their own, he wasn't sure. But the longer it felt like he had been there, the more and more variety they spoke with.

"It is when Celebi or Dialga is involved…" N pointed out.

"Celebri is part grass-type and part psychic-type, and until recently resided in the Johto region. Dialga-"

"Yes, yes I know… Dialga is part steel, part dragon." N waved the old man off, swallowing hard as he tried to not dwell on the, "until recently," portion of that statement. Without meaning to, N was the cause of thousands if not millions of Pokemon that had once lived free being removed from their territories into a whole new world… that may or may not have been developed fully for them. Was their new home like this? A giant purgatory?

No, that wouldn't have been a purgatory – it would have been a hell. No time, no change. Nothing. Just a desperate attempt to make sense of the world, and what happened. Just grass, trees, and phantoms.

Squeezing his eyes tightly together, N tried to remember. Tried to remember something, anything… happy. A good memory, a memory to treasure and play over and over again until Arceus passed Judgement.

Faintly, he could recall a time when he and Touya were not fighting. They were in Nimbasa City, and it was before the Ferris wheel. There were giant cups in the shapes of Pokeballs – Touya asked him to join, to come with. Before N's knights arrived, and made him remember who he was, why he was there.

"It'll be fun, I promise!" Touya chided, pushing the taller man towards the ride. Huddled inside his jacket's hood was his Servine whipping his head around in a paranoid fashion, as if worried any second now something would pop out and threaten his trainer – or him. The creature informed N in a disbelieving tone, _last time he said that he nearly broke his arm falling out of a tree!_ Unable to stop himself, N let out a small laugh. Taking this as the green-haired male to consenting to the ride, the brunet whooped.

"No, wait… it was, err…" N hadn't yet revealed his ability to understand, to communicate with Pokemon. True, he had implicated it… but either the brunet was dense enough to not catch on, or he didn't find it novel the way so many others had.

"Okay, fine. If we don't go on the ride, which one do YOU want to go on?" Touya asked, laughing softly as he stopped pushing the other, and then put his hands on his hips, looking up at the other curiously with a small smile.

"…the Ferris wheel."

"…no." Touya held up his arms, making an "x" that way. Behind him, Servine poked up his head long enough to agree – _that goes up way too high!_  
"Why? It's a phenomenal ride, the algorithms that go into its design-"

"Because first, we compromise." Touya grinned, and flipped the other around to once more face the Pokeball ride. "If you ride that with me, I would love to ride the Ferris wheel with you!" And right then, the brunet beamed in pride at his own attempt. "Sound fair? And… you know, I'm sure lots of math went into its design, too… oh! And you can try to determine the rate at which we're… uhm… spinning in relation to… the ride… spinning…? That's… am I on the right track?" He asked, peering curiously back up at the other.

"…fine." N deflated. He didn't really want to get on _that_ particular ride, but… well, it was a sound argument. And this was the first trainer to approach him, and to better understand how these people thought, N needed to actually talk to them. It certainly helped the amount of compliments the brunet's team lavished on their trainer – these were genuine compliments, too. Trudging towards the ride, Touya excitedly hurried along with. Servine was groaning, and realizing that yes – he was going too, wriggled his way deeper into his trainer's jacket for safety. Beneath the blue fabric N could have almost sworn he heard, _I just know my boy is going to get flung out and go splat into a wall… stomach first._ "At least you'll cushion him." N offered jokingly, just in case.

"Talking to Servine?" Touya asked, his tone light but curious as they settled into their Pokeball. "Hah, hey N? Look – we've been captured!" The ride administer rolled his eyes – that was only the millionth time he heard _that_ one today…

"Yes I – well… not necessarily…" N fumbled, not accustomed to conversing with other humans about anything other than how to save Pokemonkind, and to give orders. Nor was he accustomed to this line of thinking…

And then the ride began, a slow spin before picking up speed. "You turn this – see? Makes us spin more." Touya explained, and awkwardly N joined him in turning the center plate, representing the button Pokeballs often had. And then they were spinning and swirling, the entire theme park becoming nothing more than lights and colours and music that weaved in and out of his ears. The only things that didn't become impossible to see were Touya, the center plate, and N's very hands.

Out of everything that day, that was what stood out like a picture above everything else. That carefree smile, that bulge in his jacket where Servine cowered from the spinning, and the endless streaks of colour. That was before N told the brunet he was the king of Team Plasma. Before the He or Me. Back when there still could have been an Us.

But then, during that time N merely thought of Touya as simple-minded, tool of a trainer. Yet another teen giving into the peer pressure of fighting Gym Leaders for bragging rights, nothing exemplary – not even with compliments from his team.

As time went on, N realized that wasn't the case. If he hadn't challenged Touya, the brunet would have continued wandering around, perfectly content with meeting new friends and working with his team. Touya would have never went to the Elite Four so fast, so soon if he hadn't had something he so deeply wanted to protect. He never would have gotten there if that same dream wasn't shared by his Pokemon. By the end, the last time N saw the brunet, Touya's team hated him, loathed him. Serperior had nothing but biting remarks and threats for the king, and each meeting made a point to exit his confinement and curl protectively around the brunet.

To protect his human against the greatest threat Unova had ever seen: good intentions from a pure heart easily swayed by opinions disguised as facts. It was a mouthful for sure, but a lethal mixture.

Misguided didn't even begin to excuse N's actions.

Back to the dwelling. The memory was short, but sweet.

_It'll be fun, I promise!_ It had been fun. Afterwards, when there was a quiet moment, N took a few of his Pokemon friends on the ride as well. They enjoyed it, spinning their PokeBall so hard they couldn't walk straight for several minutes afterwards. Sighing, N let his head fall to the side so he could stare at the phantom Guardian, and the mix-matched tree he stood by.

_Last time he said that, he nearly broke his arm falling out of a tree!_ N stared at the tree before him, and followed the spiraling arms upwards. The tree broke through the vast gray clouds, reaching into the sky like a sword through a chest.

_It'll be fun_, Touya's words whispered in his hear, the boy's voice familiar but distant. What was the worst that could happen? He would break something?_ I might die?_ Regarding his surroundings, N shook his head. That almost would have been a blessing. Alternating between sitting around and lying around, unable to thoroughly investigate the other areas (West, East, North, and South wouldn't let him)… N was trapped by his own regrets and inability to do anything. To know anything. If he got above the clouds, maybe he would learn what kind of world this was – what this new place he and Reshiram created. Or maybe he would fall and snap his neck – if this wasn't purgatory, he would at least no longer have to torture himself. If it was purgatory… well, obviously he was dead and no amount of falling out of trees would change that. Once dead, one could not become "deader" – it wasn't even a word.

Pushing himself up from the ground, N wobbled his way over to the tree. Staring up at it, he tried to estimate its height mentally – or at least, its height until it hit the clouds because after that the coverage was too thick for him to determine how much farther it kept going.

"This is the Entree." Guardian informed N, once again. Considering, N mulled over whether the tree's name had a meaning or not. Was it just a name, attached to the tree? Or was there meaning behind it? Looking around at the empty world he found himself in, he wondered. Nothing else here had a name – so why did the tree? What was so special about it?

"…Entree. En… tree… In Tree…?" N murmured, trying to decipher if it was supposed to mean. Peering at the tree, that way it curved and curled, and how he could peer through parts of it… he doubted that meant something was **inside** the tree. So was there something atop the tree? Reaching up, he tested the sturdiness of the tree branch – surprisingly, it was completely solid.

"No." Guardian stated flatly, and reached out to shove N's hand right off of the branch. Startled, he looked at the elderly phantom, who immediately stood back in his original position. "This is the Entree." He repeated, tone flat and no different from all the other times he had said it.

But that was the first time Guardian had been solid, because all those other times… N could wiggle his fingers through the other's chest.

Purgatory suddenly got interesting.


End file.
